There are a variety of electrical connectors which are termed “filter” connectors, in that an electronic component, such as a capacitor, is coupled between the terminals of the connector and a ground plate or shorting bar normally mounted to a face of a dielectric housing of the connector. The filters are used to suppress electromagnetic interference and radio frequency interference entering the connector system.
One of the problems with such filter connectors simply is their cost. Normally, a ground plate is fabricated of stamped and formed conductive metal material and must be mounted separately to the dielectric housing of the connector. Terminals then are mounted in the connector housing. The filter capacitors then must be coupled between the terminals and the ground plate or shorting bar. These steps are time consuming and require assembly tooling, all of which adds considerably to the cost of the connectors. In a mass production environment, reliability and performance often have much to be desired.
The present invention is directed to solving the above problems by providing a unique modular connector in which the terminals and filters/capacitors are mounted in modules and assembled in a larger outer connector housing. The outer housing can be easily molded in different sizes to customize the connector for receiving different numbers of modules. This is considerably less complicated and less expensive than customizing an entire connector for different numbers of terminals and filters.